The great poet Robert E. Frost in his The Road Not Taken wrote of the "road less travelled by". He stood at the crossroads and surveyed his two choices, regretting not being able to travel both. One had clearly been well trodden -the popular choice - while the other seemed untouched and "wanted wear". He then took the "road less travelled by" and says "that has made all the difference." He could have been a journalist. Journalists often take the road less travelled. At times it can become precarious, lonely and filled with anguish. But it can also be overflowing with excitement, intrigue and the satisfaction of bringing news to the world - being the ears, eyes and voices of the people. Imagine if no-one ever took the less popular route. How many stories would have gone untold, lost in the mire of obscurity? There are still so many things for journalists to see, to write, to do and to say. This year, the future journalists of South Africa bring to you SMF: Moving the Media. To coincide with the 10th year of democracy, the articles explore the ways in which the media has changed, what's been happening and where it's going. Filled with insights from expert observers and participators, the stories told and photographs displayed are an amalgamation of the work learned by the BPhil journalism students at the University of Stellenbosch. The writers and photographers hope to access and understand a small cog in our great media machine. We have chosen to take the road less travelled by. And we will make all the difference. Die verskil wat ons wil maak sal hopelik gesien en gehoor word en weerklink deur die bedryf. Die woorde, klanke en beelde wat joernaliste die wereld instuur, word deur miljoene mense gebruik. Ons kan ons nie 'n wereld voorstel waaraan daar geen mediablootstelling is nie. Dis 2004 - tien jaar na die begin van demokrasie in Suid Afrika. Die media se rol het beslis verander en met SMF probeer ons van hierdie veranderinge ontleed en bespreek. Die artikels en foto's vertel wat die afgelope tien jaar in die Suid-Afrikaanse media gebeur het. Ons kyk na die media soos net die media na homself kan kyk, in die tradisie van die Columbia Journalism Review en The Media, en as joernalistiekstudente uit die oogpunt van aspirant-mediapraktisyns. Ons deel saam in die opwinding, die pyn, die verrassings en teleurstellings. Ons erken die foute en vier die suksesse. Wie weet waar ons oor tien jaar sal wees? Een ding is seker: ons gaan 'n verskil maak.

Description:

Stellenbosch Media Forum is an annual publication written and produced by the BPhil (Journalism) class of that specific year in the Department of Journalism, Stellenbosch University.